


My Little Runaway

by FleetSparrow



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 10:53:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16973241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FleetSparrow/pseuds/FleetSparrow
Summary: Dick runs away from Gotham after Bruce is cruel to him.  He runs all the way to the one place he knows he's safe:  Superman's place.  But what's really going on with Batman?





	My Little Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> An old fic from 2013, moved over before Tumblr trips down into the Sarlaac Pit.
> 
> There will be a second part to this, as soon as I can find it.

Some days, Clark just enjoyed walking slowly through the city, enjoying the sun and the air and the sights. Metropolis always seemed more beautiful on his days off and everything seemed surprisingly calm today. He tuned in to a few special heartbeats. Lois was fine, heart rate slightly accelerated, probably grilling someone for an article. Jimmy was calm, a rarity for the “junior photographer on the go” as he called himself, but he had said something about trying to tan or at least darkly freckle. Bruce was steady, as always, which in itself was a little unnerving considering what he did, although the steadiness felt a bit like sleep, which was always a welcome change for Bruce. He tuned in to Dick, his little springbird, hoping to find his heart happily beating with youthful vigor.

_Stressed._

Clark frowned. Bruce was calm, but Dick was stressed. That didn’t bode well at all. He tuned in a little more, trying to pinpoint the boy’s location.

He was close. Very close.

Ducking into an alley, he changed into his costume and flew into the air, hovering over the city. He focused on singling out the sound of Dick’s heart, his breath, the familiar patter of his gait, and started flying. Dick was moving fairly fast and in a steady direction, heading toward…

Clark’s apartment?

He flew there in a flash, and was inside, changed, and at the door before the first tiny knock finished sounding.

“Dick? What are you doi–? Dickie!”

The boy looked positively haggard, looking up at Clark with huge kitten-eyes, a small wibble in his lip that threatened tears any moment, and a huge, hastily packed suitcase held in front of him like a shield. He hiccuped slightly and whimpered.

“May I come in…?”

With a wide sweep of his arm, Clark gathered up the small boy and his suitcase, and carried them into the living room, setting him gently on the couch. He sped to the kitchen, gathering a glass of milk and a plate of Ma’s chocolate chip cookies, and placed the treats in front of Dick. He sat next to him and hugged him close.

“Now, what on Earth are you doing  _here_?”

Dick sniffled and took a cookie, nibbling it sadly. “Iranaway,” he mumbled, barely taking his lips off the cookie.

Clark leaned down a little. “What was that, Dickie? I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that, super hearing or no.” He hoped that could make Dick crack a smile. It didn’t.

“I ran away.” Dick looked absolutely miserable, pouting around his cookie, and trying desperately to not make eye contact with Clark. “Bruce hates me.”

“What?” Clark was incredulous. How could Bruce possibly hate this little ray of sunshine? “Dickie… Hate is an awfully strong word. Are you really sure that’s what you mean?”

“He  _hates_  me!” Dick sobbed, finally breaking into tears. “He said… he said I was always in his way! He said I was terrible and he shouldn’t have taken me and I should have just fallen with my parents because then I’d be–” He collapsed against Clark, clinging to him, and crying his little heart out. “He  _hates_  me! He said he never wants me to be Robin again, because I’m just an embarrassment and I’ll never be good enough at  _anything_  and–”

Clark pulled Dick into a tight hug. This was insane. He could  _never_  imagine Bruce saying anything so hurtful to anyone, especially Dick. Bruce loved him more than  _anything_  else, Clark was certain. Petting Dick’s head and softly cooing, Clark thought back on what he knew.

Dick ran away to Metropolis. Fact. Dick came to Clark so he could be safe. Fact. Dick ran away because Bruce said terrible things to him. Possibly fact. Not that Dick would be lying (the dear, sweet thing couldn’t be so heartbroken over a lie), but he could possibly have misunderstood or misinterpreted something. Although, if he  _had_ just repeated what Bruce said, there wasn’t much to misconstrue.

Back to facts: Bruce’s heartbeat was steady. Fact. He checked again. Still fact. Whatever happened, Bruce was surprisingly calm about it. Golly, if Dick had been Clark’s ward, Clark would be frantic trying to find him. Not even Alfred seemed…

Wait.

Alfred’s heartbeat seemed faster than normal. Clark had heard it through many crises, and it had always remained relatively calm and steady.

Something was wrong.

He looked down at Dick, who had finally cried himself out and was now just limply clinging to him. “Dickie? Dick, I’m going to go to Gotham and see Bruce, OK?” The boy looked up at him, eyes wide and red-rimmed from tears. “It’s OK, Dickiebird. I just want to know what happened. Do you want to stay here, or come with me? I don’t really want to leave you alone, but I understand if you don’t want to go back.”

Dick looked away, lip quivering slightly. He wanted to go back to Bruce  _desperately_ , but… he’d said such horrible things! Dick didn’t want to be hurt again. But Clark would be there to protect him. Clark wouldn’t let Bruce hurt him.

He looked back up at Clark and nodded silently, the familiar Robin steel back in his eyes. Clark smiled and hugged him once more. “Alright, then. Just give me a second to change, and we’ll get you back to Gotham and get to the bottom of this, OK?”

Dick nodded, a slight smile just barely glimmering in his eyes. Clark would protect him. Everything would be all right. Whatever happened to Bruce, Clark would make it better, Dick was sure of it!


End file.
